Waikiki man accused of killing mom pleads not guilty

A 26-year-old Waikiki man pleaded not guilty to murder at Circuit Court today in connection with his mother’s death.

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Yu Wei Gong, left, spoke to Deputy Public Defender Diamond Grace in Circuit Court on April 17. Gong, 26, pleaded not guilty to murder at Circuit Court today in connection with his mother’s death.

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A 26-year-old Waikiki man pleaded not guilty to murder at Circuit Court today in connection with his mother’s death.

Yu Wei Gong appeared at his arraignment before Judge Colette Garibaldi after an Oahu grand jury indicted him Wednesday with second-degree murder in connection with the death of his mother, Liu Yun Gong. With the assistance of a Mandarin interpreter, Deputy public defender Darcia Forrester pleaded not guilty to the charge on Gong’s behalf.

Garibaldi confirmed his bail at $2 million and set his trial for June.

On the morning of April 11, Gong called 911 and told a police dispatcher that he had killed his mother in September. He told the dispatcher and “it was an accident and he didn’t mean to do it.”

The following morning, police executed a search warrant at Gong’s apartment located at 414 Launiu St. and recovered seven bags of dismembered body parts in the kitchen freezer.

Policed matched fingerprints to those of Gong’s mother through her Hawaii driver’s license records. A deputy medical examiner determined she died of blunt-force head injuries. The manner of death was classified as a homicide.

Gong lived in the apartment with his mother. Police said he and his mother got into an argument after Gong told her he wanted to work instead of attending school. It’s unclear when the argument took place.

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